Investigations on the Process Stability of Dry Deep Drawing with Volatile Lubricants Injected Through Laser-Drilled Microholes

To prevent damage to components and tools during deep-drawing processes, the use of lubricants is recommended. Depending on the demands of given processes and materials, different types of lubricants such as mineral oils, synthetic oils, emulsions or waxes are generally used. However, these lubricants often contain substances that are harmful to human health and environment. Additionally, they must be applied before forming operations and washed off afterwards to enable subsequent processes. A novel tribological system using volatile lubricants such as CO2 or N2 has been developed and tested to counteract these disadvantages. The operating principle of this tribological system is based on the injection of volatile media into the friction zone under high pressure to ensure the separation of tool and sheet metal surface. This contribution presents the latest findings on the laser drilling of microholes and on process stability of the dry deep-drawing process under endurance conditions.